1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telephony, specifically IP telephony. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and method for identifying a speaker on a call based on the location from which sounds originate.
2. Description of the Background Art
Participating in a conference call between two or more sites has become a common occurrence for many people. In many conference calls, at least one of the involved sites includes multiple participants using a speakerphone. During a conference call where at least a first site has multiple participants, it can often be difficult for a listener at another site to distinguish and identify which speaker is speaking. For example, the first site may include participants with similar sounding voices, participants who do not properly introduce themselves or simply a large number of participants. Regardless of the underlying cause, someone listening to a conference call often finds themselves wondering which remote participant is currently speaking, negatively detracting from the listener's ability to fully process the information being received.
The prior art has attempted to help listeners identify the active speaker in a conference call by a variety of methods. However, conventional systems require that each participant use a distinct audio input device (e.g., telephonic handset, headset, speakerphone, or microphone) throughout the conference call. In such situations, identifying which participant is the active speaker requires no more than identifying which audio input device is currently active. Conventional systems fail to provide reliable identification of the active speaker in a conference call when multiple participants share a single audio input device.
Thus, there is a need for providing those listening to a conference call with improved identification of the active speaker. Particularly, there is a need for providing those listening to a conference call with improved identification of the active speaker when multiple participants share a single audio input device.